Oligosaccharide synthesis by affinity separation based on molecular recognition between podand ether and ammonium ion

We previously reported a new synthetic methodology termed 'synthesis based on affinity separation' (SAS) in which the desired tagged compound was separated from the reaction mixture by solid-phase extraction using specific molecular recognition of the tag. The interaction between a crown ether tag and polymer-supported ammonium ion was initially employed for SAS. In the present study, a new SAS method using a podand-type tag, a pseudo-benzo-31-crown-10 structure, was elaborated for oligosaccharide synthesis. The podand tag was much easier to synthesize than the corresponding crown ether. The podand moiety was attached to the monosaccharide residue via appropriate linkers. After glycosylation of the tagged monosaccharide with a glycosyl donor, the reaction mixture was subjected to the affinity separation. The desired compounds possessing the podand tag were effectively separated by the affinity between the podand and the ammonium ion. Continuous flow synthesis by integration of a microreactor and the present SAS system was applied for high throughput oligosaccharide synthesis.